GOPers blast ‘unconstitutional’ Biden calls for assault weapons ban

Republicans and conservatives lambasted President Biden following his primetime address Thursday in which he called for a revived ban on assault weapons and stated that the Second Amendment was “not absolute” as the US struggles to come to grips with a wave of mass shootings.

In a 17-minute speech, the president initially insisted he respected the “culture and the tradition and the concerns” of gun owners before pivoting to a Democratic wish list of firearm control measures.

“We need to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. And if we can’t ban assault weapons, then we should raise the age to purchase them from 18 to 21,” the president said. 

While some Republican members of Congress have expressed a desire to find a compromise on legislation tackling gun violence, Biden’s preferred policies would fail to clear the Senate due to overwhelming opposition from the 50-member GOP conference.